had my first day on class 2 this week(only had a week on 7.5’s).first 2 drops in a town centre.what a nightmare!upset loads of people.evrey corner i turned seemed to be a restriction.got wedged between another truck and some bollards.was planning a reverse until i realised traffic was backing up behind me,so i needed to carry on.i thought the road ahead was no entry,but i was wrong.managed to squeeze through with a little help from a warden.parked a bit further down for a drop.didnt realise i was in taxi spots.theres was nowhere else to go.another telling off.no-entry signs all around.no way out.then i was told i shouldnt have even been in town at all as a 1030 restriction had come in and it was a pedestrian area! arrgh!i had to limp through the streets nearley getting stuck several times to get out.luckly the other drops were at trading estates.i couldnt have took much more.ive had my head in the highway code this morning and was suprised to see you can load/unload on double yellows(as long as no signs to say otherwise)and bus lanes!(as long as its not in use).this bit of knowlodge would have been better known a few days ago.thats how it goes i suppose.anyone got any advise on doing these busy town centre drops? cheers 
put your hazrds on when you see a spot and drive in to it, ■■■■ everyone else (especially ■■■■■■■ taxi drivers) dont listen to or take to heart the grief you get, water off a ducks back and all that.
take it easy and keep your witts about you with regard width, weight and height restrictions. if you do drive down one and there is no where to turn round, phone the bizzies on the local number and let them know (they will either send someone to help or tell you to carry on if its safe to do so but get thier pc number)
it does get easier but not a lot
keep smiling and happy trucking
bit of a baptism of fire eh?? i found that when im in city centre GO SLOW read signs and road markings keep your eyes on full beam. look out the windscreen and make a command judgement. ignore taxi drivers and transit vans. if you get stuck dont panick. hazards on, reverse and watch them get out your way. i know its bulling but sometimes you got to be ruthless.
i cant stress the importance of reading the signs and road markings. it will save you alot of greif.
one more thing, DONT USE SAT NAV. use a to z . 
Easier said than done but I find the main thing is to just try and stay calm, don’t let the stress get to you and if something goes wrong or you make a mistake, put it out of your mind, forget it and carry on I used to dwell on it and it would stress me even more !!! Most town centres aren’t lorry friendly so you will be in peoples way and you will be a nuicence (sp)
I don’t know if it gets easier or if I care less about it 
Never mind the moaners, if they give you any bother tell them that if they have got it a lorry brought it. There is nothing truer.
alamcculloch:
Never mind the moaners, if they give you any bother tell them that if they have got it a lorry brought it. There is nothing truer.
Thats true, including car engines, gearboxes and (especially) a lot of bumpers 
DAF95XF:
alamcculloch:
Never mind the moaners, if they give you any bother tell them that if they have got it a lorry brought it. There is nothing truer.Thats true, including car engines, gearboxes and (especially) a lot of bumpers
especially ford bumpers we deliver them like there is no tomorrow, get stacks and stacks of the bloody things each night
garnerlives:
DAF95XF:
alamcculloch:
Never mind the moaners, if they give you any bother tell them that if they have got it a lorry brought it. There is nothing truer.Thats true, including car engines, gearboxes and (especially) a lot of bumpers
especially ford bumpers
You get stack loads through as well then
if you ever need to reverse out of some where and cars keep on comming past your back end. don’t panic keep going slowly. they will stop eventually when they start to think that you might hit them if they decide to go.
cheers all for the advice!
Just keep your cool matey, I know exactly what your going through, I started driving an 18t lorry 2months ago the biggest thing I had driven before that was a car! The main problem I had was when I pulled into loading bays in town centres I wasnt pulling my back end in enough so vans and lorrys were having problems getting by. The best advice I can give you is exactly what I was told, keep your calm and take your time, everybody else can wait!!
After a couple of months of driving ive toughened up around car drivers, before I was giving into them and having to wait for ages to make a manoveur now I bully my way within reason!!
Like everybody else says, take your time and dont panic, when I first started out I was given a bit of advice by a far more experienced driver and it stuck with me!!
he said to me, ZB everybody else, do it at your own pace and most off all, if you get stuck just ask somebody.
If people have a go at you, just tell them you are doing your job, and remember that everything get delivered by trucks 
Hi there I am definately not a experienced driver having only had my Class 2 licence for 3 months now, I was actually sent to London in a class 2 on my second day of driving anything, this was fun had 4 drops is all to shops, 1 in Islington, which the shop didnt open till 1.5 hours after i got there(thanks for that seen as im on red double lines(but in a bay), my second drop wasnt to bad, but as I said i am green to all this and forgot about the 6hour WTD and went by my 4.5hours driving time and had a break anyhow 
, so 3rd drop was in Richmond and the shop loading bay was down a narrow lane, which i stopped, unloaded my pallets with 2 vans waiting to get past me, at this time i looked at my time and found i was running short on time to get back to MK, of which I got stuck in Richmond (bloody bus broke down at the end of the town centre road), 3 hours it took me to get out of London, what fun
I do sympathise with you, it is hard but it’s all experience and it can only make it easier (please make it easier )
Crash
I hated class 2 work, all there seemed to be was multidrop which always seems to be handball, which is hard work for little money and always in town or city centres, but you get used to it.
I found the pedestrians to be more hassle than vehicles they dont seem to realise that a truck takes more to stop than a car and just walk in front of you which is more annoying when your reversing, when I first started I would stop everytime someone walked onto the road but as time goes on you realise if you keep going (slowly) they get out of the way pretty ■■■■ quick.
I was glad to get my c+e and get on easier work for a ■■■■ site more money.
It’s hard but it’s the best way to learn. My first ever drive was a night shift with a mate on a London run in an 18tonner, not too bad as he’d tell me exactly where to stop where to turn etc. My next shift, 1st ever solo was on a 26 tonner around South London on a Saturday afternon delivering milk to Tesco express petrol stations. I’d never driven South London before and it was absolute hell, at one point I felt like parking it up and catching a train back but I stuck it out and felt hugely releived afterwards.
I have never ever had a day as bad as that. I’m a few years in now and often get horrible London drops usually with a 26tonner sometimes a lowloader and whilst I never relish the thought it’s just another day.
Ha my first time in London was with a 26tonner, had 3 drops, sw19, reading and wapping, got totally lost as it was dropped on me at the last minute and had no time to look up where anything was and had no maps, had to have a night out because it took me so long 